Aeroplane.



R. BSNAULT-PELTERIE.

ABROPLANB.

APPLIOATION FILED 0UT.19, 1909. 1,040,533. Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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R. ESNAULT-PELTBRIE.

ABROPLANE.

APPLIUATION HLBD 001219, 1909.

1,040,533. Patented oct. 8, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIT/VESSES:

R. ESNAULT-PELTERIB.

ABROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.19, 1909. 1,040,538. Patented 0et.8,1912.

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ROBERT ESNAULT-PELTERIE, OF BILLANCOURT, FRANCE.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ratenteaoet. 8,1912.

Application led October 19, 1909. Serial No. 523,528.

To alt 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT EsNAUL'r- PELTERIE, a citizen of the Republicof France, residing in Billancourt, Seine, France, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a novel mode of obtaining longitudinalstability in an aeroplane. The wings are mounted on a transverse shaftso as to be capable of oscillation, and their rear point of attachmentis not fixed but is connected with the chassis by a spring of adjustabletension. This spring may be attached to the wing at one end eitherdirectly or through a lever of any suitable form, as may be dictated bythe par ticular construction. Moreover, the rear part of the wings orsustaining surfaces, which is attached elastically to the chassis orframe of the apparatus, may be connected with the rear or forward ruddercontrolling the height of fiight or with both these rudders, in such amanner as to insure automatically or at will the longitudinal stabilityof the apparatus while insuring automatic lifting of the rear part ofthe wings or sustaining surfaces.

In addition this invention relates toa mode of fixing the wings wherebythere is obtained simultaneously a variation, auto- -matically or atwill, of their curvature as well as of their incidence. Finally, thesus\ taining surfaces or wings may be provided on each side of thetractive propeller' with two small surfaces forming rudders controllingthe height of fiight and constituting one piece with the sustainingsurfaces or wings which' sustaining surfaces are articulated and mountedelastically. When the wings are not flexible they may be provided at theends with small articulated wings of variable incidence.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an aeroplane the sustaining surfaceslof which are provided with small wings and are connect-- ed elasticallywith the chassis. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a part of the aeroplane.Figs. 3, 4, 5, 5 and 6 are diagrams representing each a modification ofthe connection of the wings or sustaining surfaces with the forward orrear rudder or tail controlling the height of flight .and situated atthe'rear of the aeroplane, and Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammaticperspective views showing each a variation of the elastic mounting ofthe rear part of the sustaining surfaces or Wings. Fig. 9 is adiagrammatic perspective view illustrating a mode of attachment of: thewings whereby there is obtained simultaneously the automatic orcontrolled variation of their curvature as well as of their inei dence.Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a plan and a side elevation of amonoplane aeroplane of which the sustaining surfaces comprise two smallsurfaces, one on each side of the propeller.

Referring to Fig. 1, instead of using sustaining surfaces which areadapted to be flexed, the sustaining surfaces are provided at their farends' with small wings pivoted so as to be of variable incidence; thesesmall wings are under the control of the aeronaut and the verticalrudder controlling the direction of flight is exchanged for a vert-icalfixed plane. The sustaining surface constitut-ing the wings a carriesthe small wings m, each adapted to turn about a transverse axis n whichextends substantially through its center of pressure; these small wingsm are for the purpose of restoring transverse equilibrium. They arecontrolled by varying in inverse directions their angles of incidence bypositive rotation of tubes constituting their axes, this rotation beingeected through a suitable system of transmission Which connects thetubes with the controlling hand lever, not shown in the drawing. Theaeroplane shown in Fig. 1 also comprises a fixed vertical plane o at therear part of the machine and a horizontal rudder p, which can beoscillated when necessary in the manner hereinafter described, about twohorizontal axes at right angles to each other, for instance by means ofa system of universal joints. In this aeroplane the rear point ofattachment of the wings to the chassis is not fixed but, as shown inFig. 2, the attachment is through a spring 1' connected at one end withthe wings a at the point s and at the other end with the chassis at thepoint g; this spring is very flexible and may be attached to the wingeither directly, as shown, or through a lever of any suitable formaccording to the particular construction. Owing to this arrangement,'when the aeroplane is in equi librium in the air and traveling atnormal Speed, each point of attachment of the wings with the chassis orwith the stays is subllO jected to a constant force; this isparticularly true for the point s. It will be supposed that the springis accurately adjusted so that for the force which is exerted on it itextends by a pre-determined amount corresponding with the desiredincidence of the wings. If, in consequence of an atmospheric eddy, anordinary aeroplane is suddenly plunged into a mass of air moving in anopposite direction to its own, this sudden augmentation of the relativespeed will cause the machine to rear and rise, thus producing a suddenand very sensible increase of the sustaining force. In the arrangementdescribed r\above, on the contrary, if the spring is very long so thatits force varies little with the displacements of the point s, the leastaugmentation of the sustaining force would only have the effect ofextending the spring and of automatically diminishing the incidence sothat the sustaining force .suffers only a negligible alteration and theaeroplane does not pitch; on the contrary when the aeroplane thusrendered stable enters suddenly into a mass of air having relativelyless movement, the resistance under its wings has a tendency to diminishand the spring depresses the point s and instantaneously increases theincidence, thus avoiding a sudden descent of the apparatus. rIhiselastic connection of the rear part of the sustaining surfacesnecessitates on the one hand a connection between the wings orsustaining surfaces and the rear or forward rudder controlling theheight of Hight, or with both these rudders, so as to insureautomatically or at will the longitudinal stability of the machine.

The wings or sustaining surfaces a are articulated about a horizontalaxis z5 (Fig. 3) at their forward part and their rear part is connectedby a spring o" with a fixed point g forming, like the shaft constitutingthe axis t, one piece with the chassis; in this manner the wings canalter their incidence as already indicated. rIhe rear part ofthesustaining surfaces a; is also connected with the rear rudder or tail pcontrolling the height of flight which is articulated about a horizontalaxis y', the//onnection being through a system of bell /cif//nk levers.This system, as indicated in g. 3, comprises.a small connecting rod apivoted to the rear part of the sustaining surfaces a and also to onearm of a bell crank 1 which 'turns on a pivot fixed on the chassis; the

of speed, the sustaining surface a tends to,

diminish automatically its angle of incidence Loa-aces by rising at itsrear art, the latter exerts a traction on the ro a which determines theturning of cranks 1 and 3 and therefore the descent of the rearpart ofthe rudder p. This change of position v.is indicated 1n dotted lines. Itwill be seen that the displacements of the sustaining surfaces a are inthis manner conjoined wlth tlie displacements of the rudder p so as toreduce or increase the incidence of the sustaining surfaces while at thesame time increasing or diminishing the action of the rudder.

A similar arrangement using a `forward. rudder is shown in Fig. 5. rIAheconnecting rod .a is pivoted to the rear part of the sustaining surfacea and to one arm of a bell crank 1 which turns on a pivot fixed to thechassis; while the other arm of the bell that the rear bell crank 3 isconnected by I a rod 4: with the front part of the rudder p in front ofthe axis y and that this rear bell crank is turned through an' angle of90 relation to the front bell crank 1 this being necessary in order toattain' thefsame relaj tionshipbetween the movements of the surfaces aand the rudder p.

'Ihe modification shown in Fig. 5 is the same as that shown in Fig. 3except that the link 2 of that figure is sub-dividedl into two parts,2', 22, which are pivoted'to the same lever 5, turning on a fulcrum 6and controlled by a hand lever 7 through a connecting rod 8. In thismodification in addition to the automatic transmission of the Vdis- Aplacements of the sustaining surfaces a to the rudder p itis possible togive like conjoint displacements to aand p by operating the hand lever 7In the modication/shown in F ig. 6V the system is the same las in Fig. 5except that' there is provided an auxiliary controlling lever 9connected by a rod 10 with a lever 11 to which' is pivoted a connectingrod 12,

itself pivoted to an arm 13 xed to the shaft lconstituting theV axis y,or to the rudder p on the line of this axis. The lever 11 is pivoted tothe connecting rod 23 'which is pivoted to the lever 5 turning on thefulcrum 6" and controlled by the lever 7 through the vconnecting rod 8..The system constituted by the hand lever 9, connecting rod 10, lever 11,connecting rod 12 and arm 13 is forthe purpose of controlling, by meansof the lever 9, therelative position of the wings a and of the rudder pby turning thelatter only as indicatedin dotted lines. For varyingconjointly the incidence of the wings u and tlie rudder y) the handlever 7 is used, this operating similarly to lever T of Fig. 5; inaddition there is the saine automatic conjoint displacement describedwith reference to Figs. 3 and 4. -It will be obvious that likeconnections duly modified may be used for controlling also the frontrudder when such is used instead of a rear, or for controllingsimultaneously the two rudders when both are used.

Instead of connecting rods and bell cranks any other suitable mode oftransmission, such as through cords, can be used.

In the system of elastic attachment of the rear part of the wings shownin Fig. 7, not only is the middle point of the rear of the wingsattached by a spring 'r' to the chassis but the rear stays 15 whichcontrol the curvature are provided with springs 1G, 16, which areattached to a. movable cross bar 17 in such a manner that the stays mayeX- tend under the effect of the traction of a gust of wind.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8, the pulley 1S over which the rearcord forming the two rear stays 15 passes is provided with a springmo-unting, that is to say the rod 19 which carries it can slidevertically and abuts at its lower part against a helical spring 2O incompression. In this modification the point of attachment of the rearstays 15 rises as shown in dotted lines producing the same effect asthat described in the preceding paragraph. Owing to these arrangementsnot only is the middle of the rear edge ofthe wings adapted to riseunder action of a gust of wind but the whole rear portion.

In Fig. 9 there is pivoted at its upper end to the chassis a hollow rodor sheath 21 in which slides a rod 22 subject to the pressure of ahelical spring 23. At the lower part of the rod 22 are attached the endsof two rear stays 15 while t-he front stays 241 are attached to a fixedpoint of the chassis. To the red or sheath 21 is attached a connectingrod 25 pivcted at its other end to an arm 2G' fixed to a rocking shaft27. To the other end of the shaft 27 is fixed a lever 28 mounted tooseillate in the plane of the shaft 2T and to a point o-f this leverthere is pivoted a connecting rod 29 pivoted at the other end to an arm30 keyed to the rocking shaft 31. The latter carries a second arm 32connected by rod 33 with the wings. The operation of this system is asfollows :#By angular-ly displacing the lever 28 in the transversedirection so as to rock in one direction or the other the shaft 27, thearm 2G is displaced and there follows a pull or push on the rod 25 whichis transmitted to t-he rod 22 and its sheath 21. Whichever thedirection, therefore, the pull is exerted on one of the stays 15 whilethe other is relaxed, this being independent of t-hc position of the rod22 in its sheath 21, and consequently there is a variation of curvaturein the surface of the wings. 'lhis movement in no way prevents theautomaticl and simultaneous rise of the rear of the two sides of thesustaining surface since the rod 22 is adapted to rise in its sheath 21under control of spring when there is a sudden pull exerted on the stays15 due to a gust of wind, for example, on the sustaining surfaces. Onthe other hand by inclining the lever 28 in the longitudinal plane ofthe aeroplane, either forward or backward, a lifting or depression ofthe rear part of the sustaining surface, that is to say a variation ofits incidence, may be produced at will.

Itis advisable to balance the traction exerted by the sustaining surfaceon the operating lever 28 by a spring 3l suitably adjusted, andfunctioning like the spring 7' of the other figures by reason of itsconnection at one end (through intermediate parts) to the supportingplane and at the other end to the chassis.

As shown in Figs. 10 and 11 there may be provided on each side of thepropeller 35 a small plane 36 constituting a rudder controlling theheight of flight and made in one piece with the sustaining surfaces a.

Having thus described my invention and the best means I know of carryingthe same into practical effect, I claim:-

l. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, a shaft transverse tothe aeroplane on which the said surface is mounted at its front part toturn, a spring connected at one end with the chassis of the aeroplaneand at the other end with the center of the rear part of the saidsurface.

2. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, a shaft transverse tothe aeroplane on which the said surface is mounted at its front part toturn, a lever, and a spring connected at one end with the chassis of theaeroplane and connected at the other end, through said lever, with therear portion of the said surface.

3. An aeroplane comprising an elastically mounted sustaining surface, Varudder controlling the height of flight and a transmission systemadapted to transmit the movements of the sustaining surface to thegrudder.

l. An aeroplane comprising an elastically mounted sustaining surface, aforward rudder controlling the height of flight, a rear ruddercontrolling the height of'flight and a system of transmission adapted totransmit the movements of the sustaining surface to the said rudders.

5. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, a rudder, a system oftransmission adapted to transmit movements of the sustaining surface tothe rudder, a hand lever and a transmitting system adapted to transmitthe movements of the said lever to the first-named system oftransmission.

.6. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, a rudder, a system oftransmission adapted to transmit movements of the sustaining surface tothe rudder, a hand lever,

a transmitting system adapted lto transmit the movements of the saidlever to, the firstnamed system of transmission and a second leveradapted to displace the said rudder ifndependently of the saidsustaining surace.

7. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, stays attached to therear portion of the said surface, a sheath pivoted to the chassis of thesaid' aeroplane, a spring rod adaptedv to slide in the said sheath, anda system of transmission adapted to turn the said sheath on its pivot.

8. An aeroplane comprising a sustaining surface, stays attached to therear ortion of the said surface a sheath pivo to-the chassis of the saidaeroplane, a spring rod adapted to slide in the said sheath, a system oftransmission adapted to turn the said sheath on its pivot, a leveradapted to control the said transmission and a second transmissioncontrolled by the said lever' and adapted to control the incidence ofthe said surface. l

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

nonnn'r nsNaULr-rnmnnin. 4

Witnesses s 4 Manent AnMnNGAtm, Jeune,

H. C. Conn.

